This practical introduction to ways of using theories of language to explore different aspects of Scottish literature includes material on:varieties of Scots and Scottish English; linguistic approaches to literary studies; the grammar of texts; vocabulary; metaphor; poetic metre; language in use; point of view; narrative; stereotypes of the Scots; discourse; and reading older Scottish texts. Extensive examples demonstrate the application of the theories, from poems and ballads to a football report, and from short stories to extracts from film scripts and plays.